Thank You
by RoseFleur
Summary: Puck/Rachel through the years.  Everything belongs to Glee, except my ideas
1. Age 5

_Age 5_

Noah Puckerman was not happy. His mom had stupidly dragged him to that Berry girl's house, the one with the two dads. He didn't get that, he barely had one dad most of the time, why did she get two? His mom said it was her birthday and her dads were giving her a party and he'd been invited. Why did he have to go? He didn't even like the girl. He'd seen her at temple before, but she was always really loud and annoying. But here he was, at her stupid party, for her stupid birthday, the stupid girl. He kicked his mom angrily as she rang the doorbell. One of the dads opened it and said

"Noah, how lovely to see you! Do come in, the bouncy castle is in the garden."

He pushed his mom again and ran past the dad into the house. His mum stayed to talk to the dad. He went out into the garden to play on the bouncy castle. There were loads of kids on there and they all looked really happy. He sat on the grass to undo his Velcro flash up trainers and climbed up. He pushed the other kids out the way so he could bounce the highest. He ruled this castle, he was the king. He shouted this and stuck his tongue out at them.

After a lot of jumping, Noah was tired and really thirsty. He jumped down and went inside the house to find some juice. His mom was still talking to one of the dads. He tugged on her jeans and said,

"Mom, I'm thirsty."

She patted the top of his head, a thick curly mop of hair, but he pushed her hand away angrily.

"Mom, I'm thirsty." He repeated, tugging more viciously.

"Alright Noah, I'm just in a conversation."

"But I'm thirsty!" He whined, tugging again.

"Noah, how about we get you some juice?" said the dad, and he took him into the kitchen. There were packets of juice boxes on top of the counter. The dad handed him an apple juice box and said to his mom,

"I haven't seen Rachel for a while; I'd better go and check on her."

Noah wrestled with the juice box, ripping the straw off and the wrappings too. He looked for a bin to throw them in and found one round a corner next to the fridge. Also hiding down there was Rachel Berry. She looked stupid, thought Noah, just sat there at her own birthday party looking sad. He slurped up his drink and said,

"What's wrong with you Berry?"

"Nothing." She looked up at him with big brown eyes. Her hair was very long, very brown and very straight. She had a red hairband in her hair, and her fringe was cut straight across her forehead. She had on a white dress with a big net skirt underneath, and red flowers on it. It had a red sash and a matching red cardigan. She wore matching red patent shoes and little white ankle socks.

"You're getting your dress messy sat on the floor."

"So what?"

He slurped his drink again and sat down next to her, crossing his legs.

"Why are you in here when your bouncy castle is outside?"

"Don't want a bouncy castle, or any of those people."

"Don't you like them?"

"They don't like me."

Noah couldn't argue with that, but he felt kind of sorry for the Berry girl.

"I like you." He said not looking at her and with much hesitation.

She turned to him and flashed him a huge grin. Her front two teeth were missing he noticed. He really wanted to put his finger through the gap. He smiled back and offered her his juice box. She slurped a bit, dribbled some down her chin and wiped it with the back of her hand.

"Thanks." she said. She could have meant for the drink or for him saying he liked her. Either way he replied,

"No problem." And from then on they were friends.


	2. Age 8

_Age 8_

Rachel sat on the see-saw and looked at Noah. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. Noah sat down hard on the other end and Rachel flew up into the air.

"Noah!" she shouted angrily, "I could have fallen off and broken my leg or something!"

"Yeah, but you didn't." said Noah

"Yeah but I've got my ballet exam in two days. God Noah, you're so mean." She climbed off the see-saw and marched off away from him. She sat down in the grass and started picking daisies to make daisy chains. She had her favourite bright pink leggings on with a blue skirt on top. Her t-shirt was pink too and had rainbows on. Her daddy had put her hair in bunches and tied them with blue ribbons and a blue headband.

A shadow appeared behind her. Noah was behind her.

"What do you want?"

His curly mop was getting thicker and Rachel thought it really needed a cut. He was wearing jeans with rips and holes in and they were so dirty. Noah really needed a clean all over. His black t-shirt had red cars on it but he'd spilt some kind of food down it. He was such a dirty little boy.

"I'm sorry." He said squinting at her in the sun.

"For?"

"Jumping too hard on the see-saw and nearly breaking your leg before your ballet exam."

"It wasn't very nice."

"No it wasn't."

"I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Noah sat down next to her. He could not believe that he had just apologised to a girl. Normally he would just be meaner, like, he could have just pushed Rachel in the dirt and ruined her stupid t-shirt. But it was different with Rachel. She was his best friend and he would never be mean to her. He would always say sorry because she was his best friend in the whole wide world. And she was different to all the other girls.

"What are you making?"

"A daisy chain," she smiled.

"Can I have one?"

"I made this one for you." she said and she put it over his head and round his neck.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

And he picked up some daisies and handed them to her, watching her make the little chains and wrapping them around her wrists like bracelets.


	3. Age 12

_Age 12_

By the time they had got to middle school Noah had changed his name and his haircut. He'd shaved all his long thick curls into a Mohawk that would never grow back into the curls Rachel had so adored. He'd also dropped his first name and insisted on being called 'Puck' by everyone.

Except Rachel.

She still called him Noah. But he didn't mind that because it was Rachel and she was his best friend.

Finn Hudson was having a birthday party on that Saturday. Puck and Rachel were doing a car share and Puck's mom was taking them. They stopped outside Rachel's house and tooted the horn. Rachel opened the door and waved goodbye to her dads and ran delicately down the drive to Puck's car. She was wearing a little purple dress with a grey cardigan. It had a round neck ruffled collar and little bow ties round the waist. She wore grey knee socks with it; she'd started to wear them a lot lately, Puck had noticed. He thought she looked really pretty.

She got into the car and said 'Hello' breathlessly. Puck turned around and smiled to her.

They arrived at the house and went inside. Finn's mom had put out snacks on a table and all the kids were sat around with music playing and chatting. There was Quinn Fabray, with her long blond hair and skinny figure; Santana Lopez in very low cut top for a twelve year old – Puck's mom would have totally disapproved – linked arms with Brittany Pierce, a tall blonde girl who was bobbing her head in time to the music; and there was also Dave Karofsky, a big kid who looked like he wanted to break something. Puck recognised a lot of the other people but didn't know them that well.

After some time Santana called out that they should play 'Spin the Bottle.' All the kids sat in a circle as she put the Diet Coke bottle in the middle. Finn went first since it was his birthday. He spun it and it landed on Santana. He leaned towards her and pecked her briskly on the mouth.

"That's it?" she shouted mockingly, "Kiss me properly Hudson, or there's no point playing this stupid game!" Santana was something that Puck's mom would have called 'a floozy'. Finn leaned over again and kissed her on the mouth.

Then it was her turn. She spun the bottle and it landed on Puck. She crawled towards him and grabbed his face with her hands. She kissed him viciously and stuck her tongue into his mouth, wiggling it and thrashing it against his. Puck broke away and resisted the temptation to wipe his mouth. He spun the bottle nervously.

It stopped on Rachel. He hesitated momentarily before moving towards her and kissing her delicately on the mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut and she put her hand on his chest, kissing him back softly. It was a smooth and gentle kiss, their mouths working together like cogs in a machine. They broke apart after some time and Rachel smiled demurely at him, before taking her turn with the bottle.

As Rachel's dad drove them home and they sat in the backseat together Puck said,

"Did you have a nice time?"

"Yes thanks, did you?"

He nodded.

Rachel shuffled nearer and said in a low voice so that her dad couldn't hear,

"That was my first, my first kiss."

"Me too." Puck was glad Rachel couldn't see him blushing in the dark. "You were a much nicer kisser than Santana."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

At Puck's house, he got out and waved back at the car. Rachel blew him a kiss jokily out the window and he caught it smiling.

"Bye Noah!" she called as the car pulled away.

eHe


	4. Age 16

_Age 16_

"Noah! Noah!" He heard the shouts before he heard the banging. Rachel was rapping hard on his bedroom door before she opened it and marched in. "Your mom let me in, I need to talk to you, could you put some clothes on?" She eyed him sitting up in bed with just his boxers on.

"Well yeah, I was going to before I realised it was," he glanced at the clock on his bedside table, "Eight o'clock in the morning! Rach, what the hell are you doing here?" He grabbed a pair of grey joggers from the floor and dragged them on as Rachel sat down on his bed.

It was then that he noticed her eyes were red raw.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"He- He cheated on me." She swallowed thickly and fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Idiot." Puck murmured before taking Rachel in his arms and rocking her gently and kissing the crown of her brunette hair softly. "Want me to beat him up?"

"No thank you Noah," Rachel replied looking up at him, "Although that is a lovely gesture.

"I've always said Hudson didn't deserve you. Who was it? Some skank from the Cheerios?"

"Santana."

"Well there's your case. You're better off away from him. 'Cause you're better than the both of them Rach, trust me."

Rachel laughed wearily and smiled gratefully up at Noah. He was perfect; he was always there for her.

"Thank you." She whispered into his bare chest, snuggling down as Noah lay back down on the bed, with his arm still wrapped around her.

"No problem."


	5. Age 19

_Age 19_

"Sure you're ready?"

"Yes Noah, I'm sure. For like, the fifth time."

"I just don't want to pressure you into anything; I want you to be happy."

"I am happy and I _am _ready."

"Okay then."

They had been dating for at least a year. It had taken a lot of coercion from various friends and mothers, on Puck's part at least, but eventually the two friends had admitted they had feelings for each other. Noah was a good boyfriend, Rachel thought. He took her out to all her favourite places and always paid for her meals and tickets, and even let her take him to theatre shows _and _paid for tickets_ and _ice cream at interval and sometimes he even let her get a programme. But, upon reflection, her favourite place was probably where they were right now, in Noah's bed. Most of the time they just snuggled and watched a film on TV, sometimes missing parts of it to get with each other, sometimes they didn't even watch a film, they just lay there taking in each other's company, in perfect silence.

But despite his cuteness, Rachel reflected as they lay together again, after sleeping together for the first time, and Rachel's first time ever, he also had the power to enthral her and excite her and evoke such passion in her she had only ever felt it on stage. When he kissed her she felt tingles rushing through her body, especially when he explored other places to kiss except her lips. She adored him kissing her neck and tugging on her earlobes, sending a shiver down her spine as he did so. When his hands travelled her body, grazing her thighs and hips and chest she longed for him and could only express herself by kissing him more passionately.

They lay intertwined, Rachel running a hand gently through his Mohawk and kissing his bicep softly.

"I love you." He murmured, rolling over and looking into her eyes intently.

"I love you too." She replied and sealed it with a kiss.

"Thank you." He smiled turning to lay on his back again, adjusting his arm to wrap around her shoulder.

"No problem."


	6. Age 24

_Age 24_

"I've met a really great guy" said Rachel sipping her coffee delicately.

"Really? What's he like?"

"He's tall with blonde hair and blue eyes."

"You like dark haired guys."

Rachel eyed him suspiciously.

"Come on, I know you Rach. Tell me more."

Rachel took another sip of her coffee before pressing on. "He's an accountant in town. I met him because my old accountant that used to do the books for the theatre died," she groaned as if it was the old accountant's fault, "so he firm sent over Nicholas to take over."

"Nicholas? What a pretentious name."

"Anyway," She eyed him again, "I was in such a state because 'My Fair Lady' is opening this week, and my Eliza was a mess and what with directing and trying to run the place as well I was too stressed to handle the books. Luckily Nic did it for me, and he's so much better than the old guy as it happens. And as we were doing the books on Monday night he asked me to go to dinner afterwards. We've been out every night this week."

"Has he taken you to the theatre yet?"

"No…"

"The park?"

"No…"

"Does he play music really loud in the car?"

"Yes…"

"What kind of music?"

"I don't know, like Indie music kind of."

"Does he let you put on your music?"

"No…"

"He's not good enough for you!"

"Noah, you're always going to say that about every guy I date."

They had broken up four years ago and after some time apart, reconciled as friends. Although they were no longer romantically involved, they had realised they couldn't live without each other. As a now very successful owner of a nearby theatre, directing and occasionally performing, Rachel was a star in her own right. They met every other day for coffee in a little shop that Puck happened to manage, so they got free coffee. He was an area manager, managing shops in the chain all over the city. They spoke on the phone every day and had Sunday night Chinese Takeaway and Barbara Night, watching a Streisand classic with some chow mein.

Puck straightened his tie and watched Rachel finishing her coffee. The glint in her eye was back. He hadn't seen it since that idiot Darren had finished with her. He wasn't good enough for her either, and Puck was sure that this 'Nicholas' would go the same way as Darren. Down the toilet, and Rachel would come round and they would watch 'Funny Girl' with Ben and Jerry as Puck reminded her they were the only guys she needed. Along with him of course. And still, four years on he couldn't help his heart skipping a little beat every time she smiled or hugged him or put her hand on his arm gently.

They had broken up for silly reasons, he thought, silly fights. And it was better to have her as a friend than not at all.

"Alright, you can go out with this one. But one wrong move and I won't be happy."

"Thank you."

"No problem." Puck smiled, rocking back on his chair.


	7. Age 26

_Age 26_

The doorbell rang. Rachel really hoped it wasn't Nic, wasn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the big day? And considering that day was tomorrow, she couldn't afford the superstition. She just couldn't resist trying it on one more time. She gathered the dress and moved towards the door opening it slightly.

It wasn't Nic. It was Noah.

His mouth dropped open at the sight of her. The dress had a taffeta ball gown skirt, ruched up in asymmetric layers of material. The bodice was strapless and lace with a gathered section of lace in the bottom right hand corner, held with a crystal encrusted flower. She looked beautiful.

"Oh its you," she opened the door to let him in and moved into the living room. "Help me out? I just couldn't resist trying it on again."

"You look beautiful." said Puck moving to unzip it at the back.

"Thank you," Rachel said slipping gently out of it, into her simple white slip that she wore underneath

"No problem," replied Puck and he carried the dress back into her bedroom and returned to the living room, where Rachel was sat with her knees pulled up against her chest.

"Are you nervous?" he said, sitting down across from her on the other sofa.

"A little, but it's going to be the best day of my life, I know." She half smiled, "I mean, Nic is a really good guy, and he really loves me.."

"Don't marry him." Puck cut her off abruptly. "You can't marry him."

"Noah, I-I" Rachel stammered, shocked.

"I still love you Rach, I never stopped, I never will. Run away with me, please. I love you so much, you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, and I can't live without you. We've got so much history together Rachel,"

He dropped off the sofa and crawled over to her, kneeling at her feet taking her hands in his. "I just know you'll be making a huge mistake if you do this, and I'll spend the rest of my life and you'll spend the rest of yours wondering 'what if?' And I promise you, I'll make you the happiest woman in the world, because without you, I'm nothing. I want you, I love you, I need you, Rach. Please."

Rachel stood up and brought him up with her. She looked deeply into his eyes and sighed.

"I can't not marry him, Noah. I'm sorry. I think you should leave."

She led him to the door and shut it behind him. She leaned against it and put her head in her hands sighing heavily.

Noah sat at the back of the church watching Rachel in the beautiful white gown at the front. Rachel had always wanted to get married in a temple, and it was meant to be with him. He bit his lip angrily and all he could do was watch.

"Do you, Nicholas Andrew, take Rachel Barbara to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." Bastard, thought Noah, viciously.

"Do you, Rachel Barbara, take Nicholas Andrew to be you lawfully wedded husband?"

"I-.." Rachel stopped, and swallowed thickly. She looked up at Nic and blinked sadly. "No." she whispered. "I'm sorry."

She gathered her dress in her hands and turned around to walk back up the aisle. Murmurs and whispers started around her as she marched out of the church. She didn't look around either way as she walked forward, determined to escape.

Noah jumped up and followed her up the aisle out of the church. He was aware of all eyes on him as he ran to catch up with her.

He found her outside, leaning on a pillar with her head in her hands.

"Hey,"

She looked up, and smiled.

"Hey you,"

"You alright?"

"I am now…"

He took her face in his hands, and kissed her passionately on the mouth. He felt the soft way her lips caressed his, the familiar tickle of her tongue alongside his and everything felt like it was fitting into place. The truth was, Rachel thought, she'd never really stopped loving him. She just needed to find her way back. They broke apart and Noah looked deeply into her eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, gently stroking her face.

"No problem" said Rachel, touching her forehead to his.


	8. Age 36

_Age 36_

Rachel sat down on the sofa with a flop. Noah entwined his arm around her.

"Tea?" She handed him a mug, and sipped her own delicately, thankful for the break for five minutes. She looked out the window and saw her children playing in the garden happily.

Max had inherited his father's thick curls that Rachel missed so much. She had no intention of letting Max cut his hair into a ridiculous Mohawk like his father, or of letting him call himself 'Puck' in later years. She herself had let go of her 'Berry' and grudgingly taken the name Puckerman eight years previously. Her second wedding was a much simpler affair. She wore an elegant mermaid tail empire line dress with a diamond encrusted waistband and matching headband. Noah had worn a grey suit and looked every bit the satisfied and incandescently happy groom.

Two years later they were blessed with baby Max and two years following, Lucy. Lucy had her mother's thick long hair and penchant for headbands. Already a strong singer and a bossy boots at heart, she was destined to follow in her mother's footsteps. Max, meanwhile, was his father's rebel child. But he would always stand up to protect his little sister, like his father protected his mother.

Their story had spanned decades, and sat here today on their slightly worn cream sofa, the couple could not be happier. Noah kissed Rachel lightly on top of her head, in the crown of her brunette locks.

"Thank you," he whispered into them.

"What for?" asked Rachel, turning to look at him.

"This," he smiled, "All this." He nodded his head to the garden and the photos adorning the walls, indicating their lives together.

"No problem." Rachel smiled back and sipped her tea, settling comfortably into her favourite position.


End file.
